:fl3cacou  press  j 

THOMAS  TODD,  1 4  BEACON  STREET, 
BOSTON,  MASS. 


UNTABULATED  RESOURCES* 

KY  REV.  JAMES  L.  BARTON,  D.D.,  SECRETARY. 

[A  Paper  from  the  Pradential  Committee,  presented  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American 

Board  at  Oberlin,  Ohio,  October  ij,  igo2i\ 

What  has  been  accomplished  in  the  ninety  years  of  missionary  work  of  this 
Board?  You  will  at  once  reply  :  We  have  planted  twenty  strong  missions,  in  which 
there  have  been  organized  524  churches,  with  a  present  membership  of  56,000.  We 
have  sixteen  collegiate  institutions  for  both  boys  and  girls,  with  some  61,000  pupils 
in  all  our  mission  schools.  Our  missionaries  are  assisted  by  3,500  native  pastors, 
preachers,  teachers,  and  Bible  readers,  who  are  engaged  in  the  work  of  education  and 
evangelization.  To  this  is  to  be  added  the  mission  plant,  consisting  of  premises, 
houses,  college  and  school  buildings,  churches,  hospitals,  and  equipments  of  every 
kind,  owned  by  the  Board,  and  constituting  a  necessary  part  of  its  resources,  valued 
at  nearly  two  million  dollars. 

These  are  tabulated  results  of  our  long  labors  in  foreign  lands,  and  they  con¬ 
stitute,  also,  tabulated  assets,  upon  which  we  are  to  depend  and  with  which  we  are 
to  work  in  the  years  to  come. 

Yet  we  grievously  err  if  we  allow  our  minds  to  dwell  upon  these  tabulated 
statements  of  our  work,  and  consider  them  the  principal  part  of  what  we  have  ac¬ 
tually  gained.  If  after  ninety-two  years  of  direct  effort  for  the  coming  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  we  can  point  only  to  mission  plants,  buildings,  pupils, 
Christian  workers,  and  church  members,  we  have  not  the  fullest  returns  to  show  for 
the  opportunities  that  have  been  open  to  us  as  a  mission  Board. 

We  have  been  so  accustomed  to  estimate  the  results  of  our  work  by  the  annual 
tabulated  statements,  and  measure  our  resources  by  the  columns  of  receipts,  the 
number  of  contrilmting  churches,  the  inventory  of  property  possessed  at  home  and 
abroad,  and  the  tables  of  statistics  gathered  upon  the  fields,  that  there  is  danger 
that  we  overlook  some  of  ou*"  largest  and  most  striking  victories. 

Have  we  not  in  our  thoughts  confined  the  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit  too 
much  within  narrow  limits  prescribed  by  our  own  short  vision,  failing  to  see  how 
widely  He  has  been  organizing  forces  which  have  not  and  cannot  have  place 
in  our  statistical  tables  ? 

Let  it  not  be  thought  for  a  moment  that  we  make  little  account  of  individual 
conversion.  Too  much  emphasis  has  not  been  placed  upon  this  phase  of  our 
work,  which  must  always  stand  first  in  every  plan  and  have  supreme  place  in  every 
operation.  When  missionaries  cease  to  work  and  pray  for  the  conversion  of 
individual  souls,  the  work  of  missions  is  doomed. 

But  we  make  also  a  grave  mistake  when  we  limit  the  operations  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  that  of  conversion  alone.  As  we  look  at  the  work  abroad,  far  beyond  the 
borders  of  the  native  Christian  church,  outside  of  the  large  body  of  adherents,  out 
in  the  pagan  communities,  amid  government  officials  and  in  circles  remote  from 
mission  station  or  the  offices  of  Mission  Boards,  we  trace  the  workings  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  preparing  the  way  quietly,  unostentatiously,  yet  in  a  thousand  subtle 
forms. 

We  desire  to  call  attention  to  five  positions  of  vantage,  gained  during  the 
ninet\-two  years  of  our  mission  operations,  which  are  clear  indications  of  the 


3 


4 


Untahulated  Resources. 


Spirit’s  aid  and  power.  It  is  not  unfitting  to  refer  to  these  as  “resources  ”  which 
may  not  have  been  fully  recognized  as  such  hitherto,  but  which  we  are  to  use  as 
divinely  given  forces  put  at  our  disposal  for  immediate,  continuous  and  vic¬ 
torious  employment. 

The  first  that  we  will  mention  is  :  — 

I.  THE  HONORABLE  STANDING  OF  THE  BOARD  AND  ITS  MISSIONS 

IN  THE  FINANCIAL  WORLD. 

In  order  to  carry  on  the  work  of  this  Board  it  is  necessary  to  have  dealing 
with  the  financial  world.  Last  year  the  treasurer  of  our  Board  sent  over  six 
hundred  thousand  dollars  to  other  countries,  and  this  large  sum  represents  probably 
no  more  than  one-half  of  the  amounts  which  passed  through  the  hands  of  various 
missionaries  and  mission  treasurers.  The  above  mentioned  amount  is  the  regular 
annual  payment  made  by  the  Board  in  not  less  than  a  dozen  different  countries, 
and  in  widely  remote  and  interior  sections  of  those  countries.  The  vai;ious  treas¬ 
urers  of  the  missions  reside  at  central  stations  and  establish  financial  relations 
with  every  mission  station  in  their  precinct,  and  even  with  every  missionary  of 
our  Board.  This  business  system  is  now  so  thoroughly  established  and  so  com¬ 
mands  the  confidence  of  all  the  financial  houses  within  the  sphere  of  our  operations 
in  all  these  countries,  and  even  far  outside  of  them,  that  any  money  transaction  can 
be  consummated  by  telegraph  over  the  name  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  Board,  in 
the  quickest  possible  time  and  at  a  lower  rate  of  cost  than  the  same  could  be 
done  by  any  banking  house  in  the  world.  In  fact,  many  of  the  sections  reached 
by  our  missionaries  and  Board  could  not  be  reached  by  any  commercial  house. 

The  credit  of  the  station  treasurers  within  their  fields  is  not  inferior  to  that  of 
the  mission  treasurers  in  the  larger  centres.  Checks  drawn  by  our  mission  treas¬ 
urer  in  Japan  are  frequently  sent  to  Europe  to  pay  small  local  bills.  These  checks, 
bearing  the  printed  name  of  the  “  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions,”  and  signed  by  the  treasurer  of  the  Japan  Mission,  are  cashed  in  Europe 
at  their  face  value  as  readily  as  International  Money  Orders.  I  have  seen  the 
station  treasurer’s  check  at  Harpoot,  Eastern  Turkey,  drawn  upon  the  mission 
treasurer  at  Constantinople,  sell  at  2  per  cent  premium  when  Baring  Brothers’  drafts 
on  London  could  be  purchased  at  par  in  the  open  market.  At  tiie  time  of  the 
massacres  in  Turkey,  every  banking  system  throughout  the  interior  of  the  country 
suspended  operations,  or  completely  failed.  When  the  Mansion  House  Relief  Fund 
of  London,  amounting  to  100,000  pounds,  was  sent  to  the  British  Ambassador  at 
Constantinople,  and  parties  for  the  distribution  of  that  relief  were  dispatched 
throughout  the  interior  of  the  country,  there  was  no  way  for  the  British  Ambas¬ 
sador  to  send  these  funds  to  the  places  where  they  were  needed  except  by  putting 
them  into  the  hands  of  the  Treasurer  of  this  Board  at  Constantinople.  When 
Clara  Barton  went  out  with  her  Red  Cross  funds  and  workers,  her  money  was 
passed  into  the  American  Board  Treasury  at  the  Porfe,  and  from  there  all  dis¬ 
tributions  were  made.  At  that  time  there  were  hundreds  of  Armenians  in  this 
country  who  had  relatives  in  the  stricken  districts  in  Armenia  and  Koordistan.  It 
was  impossible  for  them  to  reach  their  friends  with  aid  except  through  the  agency 
of  the  American  Board.  During  one  year  about  $150,000  were  taken  in  Boston 
for  thousands  of  different  persons  in  all  parts  of  the  interior  of  that  disordered 
country.  In  the  year  following  the  disturbances  in  Turkey,  our  treasurer  at  Con¬ 
stantinople  received  one  million,  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  ($1,200,000)  in 
addition  to  the  regular  mission  funds,  and  transmitted  the  same  according  to 


Ufitabulated  Resources. 


5 


directions  to  all  parts  of  the  country  and  not  a  dollar  was  diverted,  lost,  or  unduly 
delayed.  It  is  not  extravagant  to  affirm  that  but  for  this  financial  system,  managed 
by  the  missionaries  alone  under  the  Treasurer  of  the  Board  in  Boston,  in  which 
everybody,  both  in  Turkey  and  outside,  had  absolute  confidence,  the  most  of  this 
relief  money  could  not  have  reached  its  destination.  We  have  no  reason  to  place 
the  business  confidence  held  by  our  missionaries  in  Turkey  above  that  enjoyed  by 
the  mission  treasurers  and  missionaries  in  every  other  mission  of  this  Board. 

About  a  year  ago  one  of  the  leading  men  in  the  banking  house  of  Baring 
Brothers  in  London,  told  the  writer,  that  American  Board  paper  passed  through 
their  house  almost  daily,  and  that,  with  all  their  world-wide  operations,  no  name 
was  rated  higher  and  carried  with  it  more  fully  the  confidence  of  the  market  than 
the  name  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  American  Board.  He  said,  “American  Board 
paper  is  gilt-edged  everywhere.” 

This  confidence  of  the  commercial  world,  embracing  the  heaviest  banking 
houses  in  every  large  city  and  extending  down  through  every  grade  of  operation 
to  the  man  from  whom  the  missionary  purchases  a  site  for  a  schoolhouse  or  a 
chapel  in  the  most  remote  districts  in  the  interior  of  Asia  or  Africa,  is  a  divinely 
given  resource  of  the  Board  which  has  been  secured  by  ninety-two  years  of  Chris¬ 
tian  business  dealing,  through  a  Board  and  missionaries  who  have  never  promised 
what  they  could  not  perform  and  have  never  failed  to  perform  what  they 
promised.  This  commercial  confidence  is  of  incalculable  value  to  an  organization 
of  this  kind  which  must  necessarily  have  continuous  business  relations  with  the 
ends  of  the  earth. 

The  second  point  to  be  noted  is : — 

II.  COOPERATION  ALREADY  ACHIEVED  IN  THE  CONDUCT  OF  THE  WORK. 

The  missionaries  of  all  Boards  have  already  learned  much,  and  are  rapidly 
learning  more,  of  the  value  of  combination  and  direct  cooperation.  This  has  been 
a  hard  lesson  to  learn,  as  there  was  no  example  in  any  country  to  follow.  The 
waste  in  rivalry  and  competition  was  so  apparent  to  the  missionaries  of  leading 
Boards,  that  mutual  conferences  have  been  held  and  even  organizations  were  formed, 
embracing  different  denominations.  These  organizations  now  exist  in  all  of  the 
larger  mission  countries  of  the  world  as  part  of  the  regular  method  of  conduct  and 
operation.  Great  interdenominational  missionary  conferences,  participated  in  by 
all  evangelical  denominations,  with  possibly  one  or  two  exceptions,  have  been  held 
in  India,  China,  and  Japan,  and  in  these,  “methods  of  work,”  “cooperation,” 
^‘policies,”  and  “the  field,”  and  many  other  practical  topics,  have  been  discussed 
from  all  standpoints.  The  last  great  conference  of  this  kind  was  convened  in  Japan 
a  little  more  than  a  year  ago,  where  some  six  hundred  missionaries  were  present,  and 
one  is  now  consummating  in  India,  in  which  it  is  expected  every  evangelical  Chris¬ 
tian  body  working  in  Ceylon  and  India,  and  possibly  Burma,  will  take  part.  As  a 
result  of  these  conferences,  there  has  grown  up  a  mutual  understanding  between 
various  missions,  so  that  denominational  differences  are  put  into  the  background, 
and  the  one  idea  of  the  “  extension  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  ”  is  forced  to  the  front. 
Missionaries  and  mission  Boards  no  longer  work  against  each  other,  but  with 
each  other,  and  the  strength  and  force  of  all  are  marvelously  augmented. 

Some  of  the  results  of  this  cooperation  are  inter-denominational  hymn  books 
for  use  in  different  missions,  as  in  Japan ;  union  Christian  periodicals,  as  in  southern 
India;  colleges  in  which  the  students  from  various  missions  study  under  teachers 
provided  by  different  missions,  as  the  Christian  college  in  Madras  and  the  Union 


6 


Untabiilated  Resources. 


University  of  North  China  ;  local  inter-denominational  conferences  for  the  discussion 
of  plans  and  methods,  as  in  Mexico,  China,  Japan,  Ceylon,  and  India,  and  even  in 
nearly  every  city  in  which  different  denominations  meet;  theological  schools  in 
which  men  are  trained  for  pastoral  work  in  different  missions  by  teachers  of  various 
denominations,  as  in  the  Arcot  Mission,  in  India,  and  elsewhere;  and  union 
summer  schools  for  deepening  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  life,  as  in  India  and 
Bulgaria. 

The  associations  of  Christian  leaders  in  Bombay,  Poona,  and  Madras,  com¬ 
posed  of  men  of  all  evangelical  denominations,  have  already  become  recognized 
forces  in  their  respective  communities. 

Over  twenty  denominations  in  Japan  have  been  united  for  more  than  a  year  in 
a  general  evangelistic  effort  in  that  country,  which  promises  to  result  in  the  most 
sweeping  revival  that  empire  has  ever  witnessed.  At  this  very  time  in  Jaffna, 
Ceylon,  three  missions  from  two  continents  are  conducting  a  series  of  evangelistic  • 
meetings  in  which  all  the  Christian  workers  of  all  of  the  missions  unite. 

But  we  need  not  prolong  this  catalogue.  This  fraternal  cooperation  has  already 
become  a  part  of  the  regular  method,  in  many  countries,  for  the  conduct  of  mission 
operations.  This  not  only  prevents  waste  of  spiritual  and  physical  energy  and 
mission  funds,  but  it  adds  greatly  to  the  strength  of  all  mission  effort  and  to  the 
influence  of  the  missionaries  and  their  institutions. 

These  are  days  of  commercial  combination,  especially  in  our  own  country.  It 
is  universally  acknowledged  that  in  this  way  America  is  rapidly  becoming  the 
strongest  commercial  nation  in  the  world.  The  secret  of  this  strength  lies  in 
the  cooperation  of  those  who  possess  commercial  experience,  wisdom,  and  resources, 
under  the  leadership  of  men  who  work  together  for  a  common  purpose.  Have  we 
not  a  right  to  maintain  that  the  combination  of  mission  experience,  wisdom,  and 
resources,  directed  by  men  and  women  of  God,  under  the  leadership  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  working  for  one  common  purpose,  and  that  the  establishment  on  earth 
of  the  Kingdom  of  our  Blessed  Lord,  is  one  of  the  mightiest  resources  of  our  work 
today?  It  seems  as  if,  in  this  respect,  we  are  just  reaching  a  condition  which  God 
can  use  for  a  sweeping  victory  throughout  the  world. 

Among  the  resources  of  which  we  are  speaking  we  mention  thirdly : — 

III.  THE  PERSONAL  RESPECT  WHICH  THE  MISSIONARIES  COMMAND  FROM 

ALL  CLASSES  OF  PEOPLE. 

I.  From  the  Commo?t  People.  —  Two  or  three  generations  of  Christian  living 
among  the  people  for  whom  we  are  working,  has  wrought  marvels  in  the  position  of 
respect  and  confidence  conceded  to  the  missionaries.  Th'S  is  little  understood  by 
those  who  have  never  been  with  the  missionaries  and  watched  them  as  they  go  out 
and  come  in  among  the  people.  In  the  older  missions  of  this  Board,  the  mission¬ 
aries’  motives  are  now  almost  never  questioned.  The  people  have  learned,  to  their 
own  satisfaction,  that  the  missionary  leads  a  pure  life  and  is  unselfish,  that  he  is 
among  them  to  do  them  good,  and  that  he  will  always  be  honest,  fair,  and  true. 
It  has  required,  in  some  countries,  half  a  century  and  more  of  self-sacrificing  toil  to 
secure  this  exalted  position.  Such  a  life  and  such  a  purpose  is  incomprehensible  to 
those  who  have  never  known  Christianity  and  the  life  it  produces.  Steadily  have 
the  missionaries  pursued  their  course  of  Christian  living  and  Christian  dealing, 
until  the  very  name  “missionary,”  to  a  vast  multitude  of  people  who  have  never 
yet  heard  a  word  of  gospel  truth  nor  know  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  has  come  to 
mean  a  man  or  woman  who  will  not  lie  or  deceive  in  order  to  gain  a  personal  point. 


Untahulated  Resources. 


7 


and  whose  chief  desire  is  to  be  of  genuine  help  to  the  people  of  the  country  where 
they  live.  This  is  to  them  an  impossible  life,  but  it  has  been  so  fully  demonstrated 
that  they  have  accepted  it  as  possible  for  a  missionary  and  a  Christian. 

A  few  months  ago,  in  southern  India,  I  saw  a  large  company  of  men  gathered 
about  the  door  of  a  missionary’s  residence.  In  response  to  inquiries  it  was  ex¬ 
plained  that  they  represented  the  two  parties  to  a  controversy  that  had  disrupted 
a  remote  village.  Both  sides  had  agreed  that  they  would  lay  their  case  before  the 
missionary  and  abide  by  his  decision.  None  of  them  were  Christians. 

A  missionary  who  was  riding  through  a  disturbed  district  in  Koordistan,  was 
told  by  a  Koord  that  he  would  be  in  peril  upon  a  part  of  his  journey  because  the 
country  was  full  of  brigands,  “  and,”  said  he,  “  they  may  take  you  for  a  governor, 
inspector  or  traveler.”  “  But,”  he  added,  “  there  is  not  a  Koord  in  the  country 
who  would  lift  his  hand  against  a  missionary.  If  you  are  molested,  tell  them  you 
are  a  missionary  and  they  will  do  anything  for  you  you  may  ask.” 

Another  missionary  was  robbed  of  his  money  and  watch,  but  when  he  told  the 
robbers  who  he  was  and  why  he  was  in  the  country,  they  returned  all  they  had 
taken  from  him  and  sent  one  of  their  men  to  guard  him  from  other  bands. 

A  man  of  a  commercial  race,  a  stranger  and  not  a  Christian,  recently  brought 
a  considerable  sum  of  money  to  a  missionary  for  safe  keeping.  The  missionary 
gave  him  a  receipt.  “What  is  this?”  inquired  the  man.  “A  receipt,  stating  that 
I  have  today  received  this  money  from  you,”  said  the  missionary.  The  man  im¬ 
mediately  asked,  “You  have  the  money  all  right,  haven’t  you?”  “Yes,”  said  the 
missionary.  “  You  are  a  missionary,  aren’t  you  ?  ”  “I  am,”  replied  the  missionary. 
“Then  what  do  I  want  of  this  paper?  ”  asked  the  man,  as  he  tore  up  the  receipt 
and  threw  it  upon  the  floor. 

Funds  raised  for  charitable  purposes  by  communities,  having  no  relation  to 
us,  have  frequently  been  put  into  the  hands  of  our  missionaries  for  distribution, 
“because,”  they  said,  “we  cannot  trust  our  own  people.”  In  the  eyes  of  the 
common  people  whoever  bears  the  name  missionary  has  their  confidence. 

2.  Not  only  the  common  people  but  the  official  classes  have  learned  to  look 
upon  our  missionaries  as  worthy  of  confide7ice.  —  Probably  there  is  no  mission  field 
where  it  has  been  more  difficult  to  attain  to  this  position  than  in  Turkey.  It  has 
been  almost  impossible  for  a  Turkish  official  to  conceive  that  a  man  can  tell  the 
truth  when  a  falsehood  would  serve  his  purpose  as  well.  And  yet  it  is  clear  that 
the  government  officials,  from  one  end  of  that  Empire  to  the  other,  have  accepted 
the  conclusion  that  missionaries  will  not  lie,  neither  will  they  cheat.  When  Dr. 
Hepworth  went  through  Armenia  six  years  ago,  at  the  invitation  of  the  Turkish 
Government,  to  investigate  the  facts  of  the  Armenian  massacres,  he  was  given,  by 
one  of  the  highest  officials  in  the  Interior,  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Dr.  Barnum 
at  Harpoot,  with  the  verbal  statement,  “You  can  depend  absolutely  upon  what  that 
man  says,  he  will  tell  only  the  truth,  and  he  knows  the  country  as  no  one  else 
knows  it.”  This  official  has  been  Governor  at  Harpoot  and  had  come  into  per¬ 
sonal  relations  with  Dr.  Barnum  and  the  missionaries,  and  knew  hov/  they  were 
regarded  by  the  official  classes. 

One  of  the  highest  officials  in  India  told  a  member  of  the  recent  Deputation, 
that  the  Government  had  unbounded  confidence  in  the  missionaries  of  the  American 
Board.  He  added,  “  Your  missionaries  can  have  anything  they  ask  from  the  Indian 
Government,  provided  the  Government  has  power  to  grant  their  request.”  The 
confidence  had  in  our  missionaries  in  Japan  is  perhaps  best  illustrated  by  the  fact 
that  during  the  last  few  weeks  a  charter  has  been  granted  to  six  members  of  our 


8 


Untabulaied  Resources. 


Japan  Mission,  giving  them  power  to  add  to  their  number,  but  only  from  our 
missionary  body,  and  fully  legalizing  them  to  hold  real  estate  in  all  parts  of  the 
Empire,  when  the  law  denies  that  right  to  all  foreigners.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no 
such  authority  would  have  been  given  were  not  the  Japanese  officials  confident 
that  the  privileges  thus  granted  will  not  be  abused. 

After  the  disturbances  in  China,  both  the  people  and  the  officials  were  desirous 
of  having  missionaries  assist  in  adjusting  the  claims  for  damages  presented  by  the 
Christians  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  The  non-Chrislians  knew  that  if  the 
missionaries  did  the  work,  they  would  not  be  called  upon  to  pay  more  than  was 
just,  and  the  officials  knew  that  only  by  the  missionaries  could  adjustments  be 
made  that  would  satisfy  all.  The  rapid  recovery  of  the  mission  work  in  North 
China  is  due,  under  God,  to  nothing  so  much  as  the  confidence  with  which  the 
missionaries  were  regarded  by  all  classes  there. 

This  position  of  confidence  and  trust  which  our  missionaries  have  won  in  so 
many  countries  of  the  world,  is  a  measureless  power  for  righteousness  and  salvation. 
It  raises  inquiries  as  to  the  secret  of  the  Christian  life,  and  guarantees  a  respectful 
hearing  for  the  Gospel  message.  The  missionary  no  longer  needs  to  justify  his 
calling  or  apologize  for  his  profession.  Multitudes  in  all  classes  of  society  are 
ready  to  defend  him  against  attacks,  and  the  circle  of  his  friends  is  wider  than  he 
knows,  and  this  influence  is  deepening  and  strengthening  with  every  passing  year. 

The  fourth  point  under  our  theme  is : — 

IV.  THE  WIDE  INTELLECTUAL  ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF 

CHRISTIANITY. 

This  does  not  signify  that  those  who  accept  intellectually  the  truths  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  are  Christians,  but  it  shows  how  the  Lord  is  preparing  the  way  for  a  wide 
and  perhaps  rapid  extension  of  His  kingdom  in  the  future.  This  marks  a  real 
Christian  conquest  in  the  minds  of  men,  which  is  rapidly  m.aking  its  way  also  to 
their  hearts.  We  have  no  method  of  measuring  the  extent  to  which  this  acceptance 
of  many  of  the  teachings  of  the  gospel  has  gone,  or  how  deeply  it  is  influencing  the 
lives  of  the  people.  We  do  see,  however,  evidence  on  every  side  that  the  power 
of  the  life  and  precepts  of  Jesus  Christ  is  already  an  irresistible  force  making  itself 
felt  with  rapidly  increasing  energy  in  the  laws,  literature,  society,  and  thought  of 
every  country  in  which  we  are  carrying  on  our  mission  operations.  A  Hindu,  a  high 
official  and  a  bearer  of  several  university  degrees,  met  by  two  members  of  the  recent 
Deputation  in  the  regular  course  of  their  work  in  India,  said  “  that  he  was  a  con¬ 
stant  reader  of  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  he  believed  that  Christianity  was 
the  only  true  religion  for  the  world.”  He  bore  at  that  time  the  marks  of  Shiva 
upon  his  forehead,  which  revealed  the  form  of  his  worship,  but  he  was  intellectually 
convinced  that  Christ  is  the  true  Saviour  of  the  world. 

Throughout  Ceylon  and  India  the  Deputation  met  with  only  one  plea  from  the 
leading  thinking  Hindus,  and  that  was  that  our  Board  should  send  to  that  country 
more  missionaries,  open  more  schools,  found  more  hospitals ;  “  for,”  said  they, 
“  India  must  have  the  enlightened  civilization  which  your  missionaries  bring  and 
which  springs  up  everywhere  around  them.”  Great  societies  in  India,  like  the 
Brahmo,  Arya,  and  Prarthena  Somajes,  and  the  various  Theosophical  societies, 
have  at  their  foundation  the  principles  of  Christianity.  They  represent  a  hopeless 
attempt  to  provide  for  India  a  Christian  civilization  without  a  full  surrender  to 
Jesus  Christ.  Many  an  intelligent  Hindu  is  ready  to  declare  today,  and  many 
did  so  maintain  to  the  Deputation,  “  that  some  of  the  principal  practices  of  Hinduism 


Untilbulatcil  Resources. 


9 


are  the  curse  of  India,  and  tliat  its  cure  lies  only  in  the  acceptance  of  the  practices 
taught  by  Jesus." 

There  are  large  numbers  in  the  Turkish  Empire  who  freely  confess  in  private 
conversation  their  belief  in  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  An  official  in  that 
country,  in  a  conversation  with  the  writer,  late  one  night  and  alone,  said  that  he 
was  a  constant  reader  of  the  New  Testament,  and  that  “  he  regarded  Jesus  Christ 
as  the  only  Saviour,  and  His  religion  as  the  only  religion  for  the  world.”  For 
reasons  that  cannot  be  explained  here,  these  people  remain  unknown  and  unnum¬ 
bered,  cherishing  in  their  minds  a  belief  which  they  dare  not  utter,  and  looking  in 
faith  to  a  Saviour  they  dare  not  profess. 

It  is  significant  of  a  marked  change  in  the  mental  attitude  of  the  intelligent 
classes  in  Catholic  countries,  that  the  evangelical  bodies  and  their  leaders  are  re¬ 
ceiving  recognition.  It  means  much  when  an  evangelical  pastor  in  Spain  receives 
official  appointment  for  an  address  upon  a  public  platform  together  with  men  of 
national  reputation  and  leaders  in  the  state  church.  It  is  indicative  of  a  changed 
sentiment  when  the  Imperial  University  at  Madrid  opens  wide  its  doors  to  students 
from  our  Evangelical  Institute,  upon  whom  it  gladly  confers  its  degrees,  and  when 
in  other  countries  the  government  schools  are  ready  to  employ  Christian  teachers, 
trained  in  Protestant  schools.  It  marks  almost  a  revolution  in  Mexico  when  one 
of  our  schools  was  officially  asked,  last  month,  to  take  part  in  a  national  celebration 
on  a  par  with  the  national  schools. 

Perhaps  nothing  shows  more  clearly  the  changes  that  are  rapidly  taking  place 
in  Japan  than  the  fact  that  two  of  the  most  popular  novels  of  the  last  few  months 
in  that  country  are  Christian  stories,  written  by  Christian  men  and  based  upon 
Christian  teaching  and  morality.  These  were  first  printed  in  serial  form  in  a 
secular  paper,  and  have  since  passed  through  several  editions  m  book  form. 

And  so  we  might  multiply  incident  after  incident,  showing  that  the  hostility 
of  the  intelligent  people  in  all  of  the  countries  in  which  we  are  carrying  on  work 
is  rapidly  giving  way  to  an  intellectual  tolerance,  and  even  open  acceptance,  of 
Gospel  truths  and  of  Jesus  Christ  Himself.  It  has  required  years  and  generations 
of  maintaining  Christian  schools  and  circulating  Christian  literature  and  living 
and  orally  propagating  Christian  truth,  to  bring  about  this  result.  It  means  every¬ 
thing  for  the  future  to  have  the  hostility  of  the  best  intellects  of  mission  lands 
converted  into  intelligent  and  sympathetic  cooperation.  It  means  that  the  way  of 
the  Lord  in  the  hearts  of  men  has  already  been  made  straight  and  that  we  are 
upon  the  eve  of  a  mighty  advance. 

There  is  now  little  hostility  manifest  anywhere.  The  one  report  that  comes 
to  us  from  most  mission  fields  is  a  report  of  tolerance,  of  friendliness,  even  of 
sympathetic  assistance  rendered  in  a  multitude  of  different  ways.  Comparatively 
large  sums  of  money  have  been  contributed  by  non-Christian  peoples  and  com¬ 
munities  to  aid  the  mi.ssionaries  in  the  prosecution  of  their  regular  and  legitimate 
Christian  work.  This  is  probably  the  most  convincing  proof  that  can  be  given  to 
show  the  changed  mental  attitude  of  many  leaders  in  the  Pagan  world.  Every 
mission  of  our  Board,  and  every  missionary,  can  give  numberless  instances  to 
illustrate  and  prove  the  proposition,  that  a  measureless  conquest  has  already  been 
made  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  those  who,  a  generation  ago,  were  violently  hostile 
to  every  Christian  effort. 


lO 


Untabulated  Resources. 


One  more  untabulated  resource  which  must  be  included  is : — 

V.  THE  INCREASING  CIRCLE  OF  FAITH  AND  PRAYER  IN  THE  BOARD’S 

CONSTITUENCY. 

After  all  of  our  survey  of  the  wealth  of  our  resources,  we  are  compelled  to 
acknowledge,  that  nothing  in  the  entire  list  can  compare  in  true  value  and  effective¬ 
ness  and  can  afford  more  assurance  of  success  in  the  future  than  the  fact  that  the 
number  of  those  has  been  constantly  increasing  who  daily,  in  secret  prayer,  and 
at  the  family  altar,  remember  the  Board  and  its  workers.  Go  where  we  will  among 
the  churches  of  our  constituency,  our  hearts  are  always  thrilled  by  the  words  of 
some  faithful  brother  or  sister  who  says,  “  I  love  the  work  of  the  American  Board, 
and  at  our  home  it  is  never  forgotten  as  we  pray.” 

There  is  now  such  a  wide  circle  of  churches  which  have  adopted  individual 
missionaries,  and  so  many  Young  People’s  Societies  and  branches  of  Women’s 
Auxiliaries  interested  in  the  person,  work  and  field  of  some  missionary,  that  the 
prayer  circle  for  missions  now  embraces  a  far  greater  number  than  ever  before. 
More  people  are  learning  to  love  the  entire  work  of  the  Kingdom  and  pray  for 
it,  because  they  have  become  interested  in  a  single  field  or  laborer.  Missionaries 
speak  of  the  tower  of  strength  this  circle  of  home  sympathy  and  prayer  is  to 
them.  When  the  future  has  seemed  dark  and  the  way  of  escape  was  hidden 
from  our  vision,  we  have  seen  the  effect  of  the  exercise  of  this  measureless  power 
of  united  prayer.  Every  missionary’s  person  and  work  are  borne  upon  the  faith  and 
prayer  of  an  ever-widening  circle  of  Christians.  When  the  missionary  lays  down 
his  office,  the  prayer  does  not  cease,  and  whenever  a  new  missionary  goes  to  the 
field,  new  prayers  are  enlisted  and  a  new  sympathy  and  faith  are  aroused.  Thus 
we  can  trace  a  rising  tide  of  united  confidence  in  this  mission  work,  an  increasing 
faith  and  more  systematic,  intelligent  and  devout  prayer  for  its  success. 

It  is  this  that  must  be  counted  as  the  one  priceless  treasure  in  the  rich 
resources  which  we  now  possess.  Should  all  the  others  be  dissipated  and  this 
remain  in  its  simplicity  and  power,  we  need  not  be  discouraged.  Should  this  fail 
us,  hopeless  indeed  would  be  our  efforts.  If  we  can  but  claim  as  our  only 
resource  an  ever-widening  constituency  of  devoutly  praying  men  and  women,  we 
need  not  falter,  for  we  will  still  have  upon  our  side  the  dynamics  of  the  spiritual 
universe. 

In  summing  up  the  resources  upon  which  we  may  rely  in  the  conduct  of  our 
great  work,  without  fear  of  contradiction  or  charge  of  exaggeration,  we  confidently 
affirm  that, 

Never  in  the  history  of  this  Board  has  its  credit  been  so  firmly  established  in 
the  commercial  houses  of  every  banking  center  of  the  world,  as  well  as  with  the 
great  number  of  men  and  women  who  come  into  relations  more  or  less  financial 
with  our  missions  and  missionaries  in  every  country  where  we  are  at  work. 

Never  has  there  been  a  time  when  the  evangelical  missionaries  of  all  Boards 
have  been  so  united  in  cooperating  endeavor  to  husband  resources  and  economize 
money  and  men  in  the  interests  of  a  larger  and  more  aggressive  effort  for  the  con¬ 
version  of  the  world.  This  is  not  a  spasmodic  effort  made  under  the  leadership  of 
a  few  idealists,  nor  is  it  an  experiment  which  may  be  abandoned;  but  a  tried  and 
fixed  policy  in  which  the  missionaries  profoundly  believe,  and  which  is  endorsed  by 
the  best  Christian  conscience  of  the  evangelical  denominations. 


Ufifabiilati'd  Kcsoiirces. 


1 1 

Never  in  the  history  of  foreign  missions  has  there  been  such  a  concensus  of 
judgment  upon  the  part  of  all  leading  missionary  boards  and  their  missionaries, 
upon  the  best  policy  and  methods  of  operation  in  the  fields.  Experiments  have 
been  many  in  this  respect  during  the  last  century.  But  now,  in  the  matter  of  self- 
support  of  the  native  churches,  the  training  and  employment  of  a  native  agency, 
the  importance  of  a  Christian  literature,  the  independence  of  the  native  churches, 
the  relation  of  education  to  evangelization,  and  in  many  other  things,  the  period  of 
experiment  is  past,  and  we  are  ready  to  carry  on  the  work  along  lines  that  have 
been  proven  to  be  economical  and  effective,  and  that  produce  results  that  are 
permanent. 

There  has  never  been  a  period  since  foreign  mission  work  was  entered  upon, 
that  the  missionary  himself  and  the  cause  for  which  he  stands  was  more  respected 
than  at  the  present  time.  Never  were  missionaries  more  esteemed  as  people  of 
unselfish  purposes,  unquestioned  integrity,  genuine  sympathy,  and  well-recognized 
ability. 

There  has  never  been  a  time  since  Jesus  Christ  entered  upon  His  earthly  life, 
that  the  words  He  spoke  and  the  life  He  lived  have  had  such  charm  and  beauty 
for  the  multitudes  who  have  caught,  as  yet,  but  glimpses  of  His  glory,  but  who  are 
showing  by  their  words  and  acts  that  they  are  fast  becoming  His  disciples.  We 
find  today  that  vast  numbers  of  Africans,  Chinese,  Japanese,  Hindus,  Moham¬ 
medans,  and  a  host  of  other  races  and  peoples  for  whom  we  are  at  work,  are,  upon 
their  own  confession,  the  friends  of  Jesus  Christ,  although  they  have  not  yet  sur¬ 
rendered  their  lives  to  Him. 

There  has  never  been  an  hour  since  the  work  of  this  Board  was  first  inau¬ 
gurated,  that  there  was  so  much  to  encourage  an  advance  movement  in  nearly  every 
one  of  its  missions.  We  have  never  been  confronted  with  so  many  unique  oppor¬ 
tunities  for  taking  permanent  possession  of  fields  for  which  we  have  contended  for 
years  and  at  great  cost  and  sacrifice.  Vast  regions  have  already  capitulated,  and 
all  we  need  to  do  is  to  take  possession  in  the  name  of  Christ. 

There  has  never  been  a  time  in  the  history  of  our  work  when  so  much  could 
be  accomplished  with  so  little  help  from  home  as  is  the  case  today.  In  actual 
results,  one  dollar  today  accomplishes  more  than  many  times  that  amount  half  a 
century  ago ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  failure  to  provide  the  essential  support  now 
entails  a  loss  far  greater  than  a  similar  failure  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  work. 
To  retrench  then,  was  to  fail  to  occupy;  retrenchment  now,  is  to  tear  down  and 
destroy  not  only  institutions,  but  the  expectations  and  the  flickering  faith  of  im¬ 
mortal  men. 

There  has  never  been  a  time  when  all  over  the  world  our  missionaries  have 
been  prevented,  as  for  the  last  ten  years,  from  making  efforts  to  plant  new  institu¬ 
tions,  organize  new  work,  and  enter  new  fields;  for  on  every  side  the  institutions 
already  planted,  and  the  fields  already  occupied,  are  so  rapidly  enlarging  that,  with 
our  present  force  of  men  and  women,  and  our  present  financial  support,  they  are 
wholly  unable  to  keep  pace  with  the  rapidly  developing  work.  Men  and  women 
and  children,  villages,  tribes,  and  races,  now  come  in  numbers  beyond  the  ability 
of  the  missionaries  to  receive,  and  they  plead  for  Christian  instruction.  The 
burden  of  the  letters  that  come  to  our  Rooms  from  the  missionaries  is  not  of 
fields  to  be  explored  and  work  to  be  undertaken  in  the  face  of  opposition  and  per- 


Untabulated  Kesources. 


I  2 

secution,  but  of  pupils  for  whom  there  are  no  accommodations;  schools  of  children 
for  whom  there  are  no  teachers ;  crowds  of  people  pleading  for  the  gospel  message, 
and  no  provision  for  sending  a  preacher ;  calls  from  the  people  for  missionaries  to 
reside  among  them,  and  no  missionary  on  the  field  can  be  spared  and  no  new  ones 
to  send.  We  are  simply  overwhelmed  by  the  abundance  of  our  opportunities  and 
the  richness  of  our  resources  on  the  field. 

There  has  never  been  a  time  in  the  history  of  this  Board  when  its  work  and 
workers  were  more  borne  upon  the  hearts  of  a  united  constituency  as  it  gives  and 
prays  that  the  God  of  Missions  guard  with  loving  care  and  guide  with  unerring 
wisdom,  and  endue  with  Divine  power  all  those  who  are  connected  with  the  Board 
both  at  home  and  abroad.  The  circle  of  praying  supporters  in  the  foreign  field  is 
rapidly  increasing.  On  this  very  day  the  Christians  in  our  Cevlon  Mission  are 
uniting  in  special  services  of  prayer  for  a  blessing  upon  this  meeting  of  the  Board 
they  honor  and  love ;  and  thus  the  prayer  circle  for  us  and  our  work  has  enlarged 
among  our  own  constituency,  until  it  embraces  the  world. 

There  has  never  been  a  time  when  the  voice  of  God  was  more  clearly  under¬ 
stood  as  He  points  his  followers  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  and  bids  them  go  in  the 
name  of  the  Master  and  make  Christ  known  to  all.  Never  has  He  spoken  more 
clearly,  demanding  that  we  sacrifice  that  which  we  hold  dearest  and  best,  in  the 
name  of  Him  who  kept  nothing  back,  in  order  that  a  world  might  be  redeemed. 
A  generation  of  obedience  upon  the  part  of  those  who  profess  allegiance  to  our 
crucified  Lord  would  carry  the  Gospel  of  salvation  to  the  remotest  corners  of  the 
earth,  and  give  every  race  and  kindred  and  tongue  and  people  an  opportunity  to 
personally  know  Him  Whom  to  know  aright  is  life  eternal. 

Few  of  us  realize  what  a  rich  and  fruitful  work  we  possess  and  how  full  it  is 
of  promise.  However  much  we  may  have  failed  in  the  past  to  catch  the  far- 
reaching  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  the  God  of  Missions,  we  now  see  Him  moving 
over  the  century,  demonstrating  the  truth  of  the  declaration  of  our  Lord  when  He 
said,  “  All  authority  hath  been  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  on  earth,”  and  “  Lo,  I 
am  with  you.”  We  can  now  cast  aside  for  the  moment  all  narrow  and  forced 
standards  of  measurement  and  catch  the  mighty  sweep  of  the  Kingdom  as  it  has 
been  conquering  to  itself  principalities  and  powers  in  the  domain  of  commerce, 
science  and  law,  literature  and  society,  intelligence  and  conscience. 

The  Kingdom  has  already  come  while  we  have  been  waiting  to  tabulate  its 
approach  and  measure  its  coming  by  our  human  observations.  As  we  look  at  what 
God  has  wrought  and  at  the  resources  He  now  places  at  our  disposal  and  bids  us 
use  for  Him,  it  seems  as  if  all  things  are  possible  to  us,  if  we  will  only  rise  in  the 
might  of  the  Son  of  God  and,  with  His  spirit  of  consecration  and  sacrifice,  enter 
into  the  inheritance  that  is  ours. 


